When Summer's in the Meadows
by The Triskelion King
Summary: A little stream of consciousness type thing I wrote about Sarafina and Nala's relationship. Loosely inspired by the song 'Danny Boy'


It had been the better part of a day since Sarafina had been there. She had sat almost motionless on the brow of the hill as she had watched her daughter vanish into the distance. As the cub she had raised disappeared from her sights into nothing more than a speck on the horizon and then disappeared altogether, so too had the warm light of the sun faded from the sky. No longer did it bathe the plains in its unforgiving light, but now too sank deep into the great unknown.

The cool of the evening had set in and many of the lionesses that had accompanied them to this point had slipped quietly away throughout the course of the day. She stared into the distance, her eyes allowing no tears, not betraying the true nature of her mental state. She didn't think she even could cry, she didn't feel she had it in her. Her mind was elsewhere, consumed by the far off hills and valleys, and by what lay beyond them.

"Sara" A soft voice cut the silence. "Sara, are you ready to go back?"

The voice belonged to Sarabi, the former consort of the Pridelands and one of her closest friends through the years. Sarabi and her daughter had especially grown immensely close throughout the years. This was hardly a surprise, they had, after all shared a common sense of loss. A loss that Sarafina was not proud, but nonetheless glad to say that she could not recognise. She wished that that was still the case.

"Not yet" She muttered, barely audible "Just… A little while."

"Sara, she won't… She won't be back. Not for a long time yet." It was painful for Sarabi to say this, but she knew Sarafina needed to hear it.

"Please, I need this. Just let me have this."

"Okay."

The two stared together, shared concern with varying subjects. Sarabi's eyes were focused on Sarafina. She looked into them. They were clean and focused, there was no distraction. The two had tuned out the rest of the world and were now solely concerned with a single matter. Neither spoke. After a while Sarabi, having decided there was not much she could do to ease the grieving mother, decided it was best to head back to Pride Rock. As she turned to leave she said "We love you, Sara. Whenever you're ready to come home… We'll be there."

Sarafina didn't look around. Instead her eyes stayed fixed on the horizon. She nodded gently in response "Thank you." She said, almost whispering, barely able to force the words out.

"Okay" Sarabi responded, placing a paw on the lioness' shoulder briefly before beginning the long trek back to the home that they had left in secret in the early hours of the morning.

Sarafina could no longer see any trace of her daughter, her Nala. It had been a long time now since she had, in fact it felt like centuries. She didn't know exactly how long it had been. She wondered if Nala could see her. Probably not. She wondered if her cub was thinking about her. She wandered if it was as painful for her daughter as it was for her. She hoped that it wasn't. She was momentarily comforted by the thought that perhaps it wasn't. When Nala had left it was all Sarafina could do not to break down and run after her, to beg her to come home and stay there. If Nala felt the same way it was doubtful that she would have gotten so far. Maybe though. Nala was strong, a real fighter, she always had been. She had gotten that, Sarafina figured, from Sarabi. That lioness' iron will had rubbed off on her more than a little. She'd never given in when things had become too much for everyone around her. It was that spirit that had compelled her to stand up for the lions of Pride Rock, to leave in search of hope. She had never, would never, give up. The young lioness had stood up to hordes of hyenas, made her voice heard for those that mattered to her when they were most in need of it, when they were too afraid to do so for themselves. Recently she had even stood up to Scar himself. She was no pushover that was for sure. That fire in her belly was likely due in no small part to her losing her closest friend when they were both still cubs. She had become scared to death of ever losing anyone again and now the lengths she would go to protect them were nothing short of astonishing. Sarafina truly believed that Nala would give her own life to protect her loved ones. That scared her sometimes. It scared her a lot more than she would admit.

It must have been that same fear, that same pain that had driven Sarabi throughout the years. Simba was her son after all, and she had lost him as well as her love when the Pridelands lost its king. Sarafina now felt that same pain. All truth be told, it was the uncertainty that hurt the most. Perhaps Sarabi or her daughter were able to draw a line under their losses, make a new start, accept that what was lost was lost, get some form of closure. She couldn't. She didn't know if she ever could. She had no idea where her daughter was or what she was doing, if she was okay, if she was even alive. Her daughter could be dead and she may never know. This thought was the one that caused her to break. She teared up. If her daughter needed help she would never know, never be able to give her the assistance she needed. How could she go on with that occupying her mind?

And if she did succeed? Well then, if she did what good would it do her to come back to find her mother a shell of the lioness she had once been? What good would it do her to come back and find out that all the effort, all the danger, all the suffering she had been through had not been able to save someone so close.

Sarafina's mind went quiet for a moment. Not the dull ache of a quiet that had filled her head so much today, but now a serene almost blissful relief. She felt no more worry, no more fear. Instead she realised something. Her daughter had been unflinching and had fought against all that she had come up against for the good of those she loved. Now she had to do the same. She got up slowly, still looking into the distance, now cloaked in the shadow of twilight. If Nala came home successful, when she did… Sarafina was going to make damn sure that the pride she came home to was ready for whatever her daughter had planned.


End file.
